Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Tōru Ōhira

Tōru Ōhira
大平 透
Born(1929-09-24)September 24, 1929[1]
DiedApril 12, 2016(2016-04-12) (aged 86)[2]
Occupations
  • Narrator
  • voice actor
Years active1952–2015

Tōru Ōhira (大平 透, Ōhira Tōru, September 24, 1929 – April 12, 2016) was a Japanese narrator and voice actor from the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. He was the founder of Ōhira Production and was also attached to 81 Produce.

One of his best-known roles was the dub voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars, on the series' home video releases and playing the title character Moguro Fukuzō in the original The Laughing Salesman. He was also known for his many narration roles, most notably in the Super Sentai series.

Overview

Ōhira was a very influential figure in the dubbing industry during the Shōwa period.

After graduating from Tokyo Metropolitan University Jōnan Senior High School (in which he was also the supervisor of the school's volleyball team), he went on to graduate from the Meiji University Department of Political Science and Economics. In 1954, he joined the Nippon Broadcasting System, in which he became an announcer and producer. In 1955, with the opening of the Tokyo Broadcasting System, he enlisted in its theatrical company. He left the company in 1958 to become a voice artist.

His breakthrough performance was the dubbing voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars series. He reprised this role for Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and a crossover appearance in Soulcalibur IV- notable because the game was originally in Japanese, meaning that Ōhira was Vader's "original" voice in the game, unlike with the films. In addition, he was usually cast in either astringent villain roles or gag characters, such as Pete in Disney cartoons.

He was also a close friend of Kyosen Ōhashi, and the mentor of Shirō Yasutomi.

On April 12, 2016, Ōhira died from pneumonia at the age of 86. As his last will, he requested Tesshō Genda to replace him as the voice of Moguro Fukuzō.

Filmography

Television animation

Theatrical animation

Video games

Year Title Role Console Source
2001 Sakura Taisen 3 ~Pari wa Moeteiru ka?~ Duke Calmar [4]
2001 Stupid Invaders Gorgious Klatoo Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows [5]
2002 Space Channel 5: Part 2 President Peace Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, Steam, Microsoft Windows [5]
2002 Kingdom Hearts Mayor of Halloween Town PlayStation 2 [5]
2005 Kingdom Hearts II Pete, Mayor of Halloween Town PlayStation 2 [4]
2008 Soulcalibur IV Darth Vader PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [5]
2008 Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes Hakushon Daimaō [4]
2009 Kingdom Hearts Coded Pete NTT docomo [4]
2010 Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Pete PlayStation Portable [5]
2010 Kingdom Hearts Re:coded Pete Nintendo DS [5]
2012 Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Pete, Julius Nintendo 3DS [5]
2014 Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX Pete PlayStation 3 [5]

Tokusatsu

Dubbing roles

Live-action

Animation

References

  1. ^ "giantmonstermovies.com".
  2. ^ "喪黒福造・ハクション大魔王…大平透さん死去". Yomiuri Shimbun. Archived from the original on 2016-04-14. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  3. ^ a b Doi, Hitoshi. "Search results for "大平 透" in ALL database". Hitoshi Doi's Seiyuu Database. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "声優さん出演リスト 個別表示:銀河万丈(Toru Ohira)" [Voice actor's appearance list individual display: Tooru Oohira]. Voice Artist Database (in Japanese). GamePlaza-HARUKA-. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Toru Ohira - 44 Character Images | Behind The Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  6. ^ "A.I." The Cinema. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  7. ^ "マンハッタン無宿". Star Channel. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "ネバーエンディング・ストーリー<インターナショナル版HDニューマスター> ネバーエンディング・ストーリー<エクステンデッド版HDニューマスター>". Zeque Productions. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  9. ^ "お熱いのがお好き(1959)". Star Channel. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  10. ^ "スーパーマン". Star Channel. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  11. ^ "ザ・シンプソンズ MOVIE[吹]". Star Channel. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  12. ^ "グーフィー・ムービー/ホリデーは最高!!". Disney. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  13. ^ "史上最強のグーフィー・ムービー/Xゲームで大パニック!". Disney. Retrieved February 2, 2022.